


til the heavens roll away

by xerampelinae



Series: pull the blackout curtains down [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: External point of view, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, News Media, playing fast and loose with canon, sooo s7 is looking like a wild ride how about that sdcc panel, vague yet menacing government agency galaxy garrison
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-05-20 05:57:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14888921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xerampelinae/pseuds/xerampelinae
Summary: [Audio recording, Syrinx Mission Log 2118.06.20.08.58.53]SYRINX: Mission Control, this is Space Vessel Syrinx. We’ve touched down on Kerberos. Will conduct an EVA to confirm landing site stability before beginning science mission objectives.CONTROL: Confirmed, Syrinx. Great job on the flying, Shirogane.-The Galaxy Garrison buries all mission logs related to the Kerberos mission, but not deeply enough.





	1. Lost Archives

Public Release of Lost Kerberos Mission Archives  
_MediaNews, published March 6, 2120, last updated March 29, 2120_

As a publically-funded government agency dedicated to scientific innovation and the spirit of discovery, the Galaxy Garrison is bound by strict regulations regarding the release of information. This time frame has historically been 24-hours, as it is a non-military uniformed service not bound by classified information.

In the wake of Post-Contact, as the discovery of extraterrestrial life is colloquially known as, previously-released reports are being called into question. The return of Commander Samuel Holt, previously assumed KIA on the Kerberos Mission, has sparked an ongoing investigation into the Galaxy Garrison’s active response and incident report.

In particular, the qualifications and actions of Pilot-Cosmonaut Takashi Shirogane, previously considered at fault for the Kerberos Disaster, have come to attention. Commander Holt’s public report has stated that Pilot Shirogane had successfully landed the Syrinx on Kerberos and who had, on return to Earth, been detained by Galaxy Garrison. Shirogane was subsequently recovered by four individuals tentatively identified as former and current Garrison students who went missing shortly after. Due to lack of confirmation and out of respect for the underage students, MediaNews has chosen not to report their identities at this time.

Several previously-lost craft-mission control communication logs involving Pilot Shirogane have been found misfiled within the International Aeronautics Archives. In addition to formal logs are less formal logs of space chatter. These logs are now being republished. As stated previously, this information is a matter of public record, regardless of the intimacy with which they read.

-

[Audio recording, Syrinx Mission Log 2118.06.20.08.35.28]

SYRINX: Mission Control, this is Space Vessel Syrinx, making final approach.

CONTROL: Syrinx, we read you loud and clear.

SYRINX: Systems are good to go, waiting for final clearance.

CONTROL: Everything looks good from here, Syrinx. Proceed whenever you’re ready.

SYRINX: Confirmed.

-

[Audio recording, Syrinx Mission Log 2118.06.20.08.58.53]

SYRINX: Mission Control, this is Space Vessel Syrinx. We’ve touched down on Kerberos. Will conduct an EVA to confirm landing site stability before beginning science mission objectives.

CONTROL: Confirmed, Syrinx. Great job on the flying, Shirogane.

-

[Audio recording, Syrinx Mission Log 2116.09.13.22.56]

CONTROL: [Inaudible] ‘Central nervous depressants?’ ‘No, sir, this is all the effects of sleep deprivation. No need to imbibe.’

SYRINX: What did he say to that?

CONTROL: ‘Take some R&R, Cadet. No reason to crash.’ I told him, ‘Usually Pilot Shirogane and I take R&R together.’ He didn’t seem to believe the bit about temari and embroidery.

SYRINX: [Laughter] It sounds bad when you put it like that. Even if it’s the honest truth.

CONTROL: If you tell Matt, he’d probably drop one of his supposedly-discreet recordings. Might make more questions though.

SYRINX: Too bad photos aren’t done NASA-style anymore. Instead of two dogs, there’d be you, me, and a massive amount of brightly colored thread.

CONTROL: Would you--would you really have done that?

SYRINX: Of course. In fact,l maybe we should do that for the New Year, once I’m back.

CONTROL: [A pause] Yeah. Yeah, we can do that.

SYRINX: Alright. [Yawns] I guess I should let you go. Give my love to Cadet Shirogane, please?

CONTROL: He sends it back, Pilot Shirogane.

SYRINX: This is Space Vessel Syrinx signing off.

-

Mission Control has tentatively been identified as Pilot Shirogane’s Garrison mentee in the 2116 log. Per MediaNews’ decision to not release the identity of the missing cadets, MediaNews can only confirm Control’s identity as Cadet Shirogane, as a participant in a program exposing Garrison cadets to various facets of aeronautics.

_This article has been updated since time of publishing._


	2. Pilot Error

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The most commonly accepted definition is when a pilot’s decision, by action or inaction, is the determining factor of an incident. But does abduction by alien lifeforms in the cold and distant orbit of Pluto count as pilot error?

Kerberos and Beyond: What Does Pilot Error Actually Mean?  
 _MediaNews, published June 16, 2120_

Anyone talking about the Kerberos mission automatically describes its failure as pilot error. It’s a phrase bounced from Galaxy Garrison media representatives to newsroom bloggers to readers around the world. But what does pilot error actually mean?

The most commonly accepted definition is when a pilot’s decision, by action or inaction, is the determining factor of an incident. But does abduction by alien lifeforms in the cold and distant orbit of Pluto count as pilot error?

MediaNews cannot speak for any others, but the consensus of its newsroom gives a resounding no. But MediaNews recognizes the importance of context within such decisions.

The Kerberos mission was lost while out of distance-staggered contact with Garrison Mission Control. At such a distance, information gathering was restricted to relayed information and what imaging could be captured by satellites. The Garrison, however, was quick to reveal a previously-unknown detail about Pilot Cosmonaut Takashi Shirogane, that had increased the controversy of his nomination and selection for the Kerberos mission: a chronic and terminal condition. The possibilities of management failure (per the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster) and cataclysmic event horizon (by nature any unexpected event surpassing the capacity of craft or crew members) were conspicuously absent from Galaxy Garrison press releases.

Archival mission logs discovered in March indicate that mission failure occurred following touchdown on Kerberos, contrary to previously-released information. Galaxy Garrison databases are currently undergoing a third-party auditing process for any additional discrepancies.

Given that Pilot Shirogane is more or less deployed starside in what appears to be a mechanical lion collective in any mecha fan’s dream, MediaNews is not able to reach out at this time. Pilot Shirogane’s cohort, former instructors, and ranking officers have declined to comment on him since the initial fallout of the Kerberos mission. However, MediaNews remains dedicated to transparency and accountability. 

The identities of the missing Galaxy Garrison cadets and Cadet Shirogane continue to be withheld out of respect for them and their families.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've had some wandering attempts at chapter 2 handwritten for a bit. Then SDCC panel spoilers dropped yesterday and wow, this accidental immortality au fic has some interesting new context. Also the marriage of convenience being secret because going from a serious relationship into a marriage quickly seems a little shotgun weddingish. But the pre-mission process is probably an extended period no matter what, given the scope of the mission, and an ultimate like the one we hear about in the S7 premiere? You don't wait until launch day to end that. You end that the day you make your choice so you can start working through everything.


	3. Open Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remember the night the Kerberos mission was lost--do you remember? In a few days, it will have been five years; six, since the the Space Vessel Syrinx left Earth under the command of senior Galaxy Garrison scientist Samuel Holt and additional crew members Pilot Cosmonaut Takashi Shirogane and Commander Holt’s son Lieutenant Matt Holt.

**An Open Letter Following Voltron’s Earth Landing**   
_MediaNews, published July 1, 2123_

Remember the night the Kerberos mission was lost--do you remember? In a few days, it will have been five years; six, since the the Space Vessel Syrinx left Earth under the command of senior Galaxy Garrison scientist Samuel Holt and additional crew members Pilot Cosmonaut Takashi Shirogane and Commander Holt’s son Lieutenant Matt Holt. With the exception Lt. Holt, who had only participated in orbital training missions, the crew of the Syrinx was considered to be experienced and appropriate candidates for their mission; several lunar runs had been successfully completed prior.

These days, space almost seems mundane. Everyone who watched the first lunar landing live has long since passed on. But Kerberos I was special. This was a new frontier, this was _Pluto._ They were going to be the first, and there were going to be others following their footsteps.

I remember where I was when they said everyone on the Syrinx was dead. I was in bed, home for college for the summer and reading by tablet light as I waited for the straggler fireworks to stop. It didn’t seem real at first, but everyone else was seeing it too.

You must remember what it was like, afterwards. The news-cycle repeating endlessly what little was known, and scrabbling for more. The rest was like walking in a fog, or along a thorn-draped path. There was a lot of hurt. I write this all for the sake of understanding, in the face of the truth that is now undeniable, now that the world has seen the return of first Commander Holt, and now Pilot Cosmonaut Shirogane.

Pilot error was a lie and the Garrison knew it. Pilot error was a great cruelty to the kith and kin of the Syrinx. It is a privilege to have documented some of the reunions, and a horror.

MediaNews will continue to investigate allegations of Garrison corruption. In the meantime, we are happy to welcome home the crews of the Syrinx and Voltron. To our new friends from across the galaxy, here is to a prosperous future together. And to the Pilots Shirogane, our best wishes for their future together, may it be long and joyful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one gets us closer to where the rest of the series is at.  
> Catch me on twitter @belovedbacon

**Author's Note:**

> ...to be continued? And so we return from the sex joke codas.  
>  Title from Fall Out Boy's "Bishops Knife Trick" (again), “And I'm yours/'Til the earth starts to crumble and the heavens roll away/I'm struggling to exist with you and without you”  
> I have so many ideas right now and so much shit to do.


End file.
